It’s one of the oldest stores at Meadowbrook Mall, but it’s not about to throw in the towel. Intead, after more than two decades of operations The Finish Line store located just inside the entrance to the food court is doing a major renovation.

 

Last month, the company  filed for a building permit to do an upgrade. According to the permit, there will be $125,000 worth of improvements done to the store. The contractor doing the work is Allegheny Design Management out of Vandergrift, Pa.

 

The remodel is more proof that the Mall is not only on good footing, but extremely healthy. And that makes Meadowbrook Mall Property Manager Marcello Lalama happy.

 

“Any time a store reinveststs in itself it’s always a great sign. As a general rule, you have to be doing good sales and good business when you put that type of money into a remodel,” said Lalama. “We’ve seen a lot of remodels over the years – some bigger, many smaller – but I can tell you that this speaks volume for how well the Mall is doing and how well Finish Line is doing.”

 

Community Development Director Randy Spellman agreed that the remodel is not only good news for the economy in Bridgeport, but great news for the mall.

“This tells you that the Finish Line, which is one of the leaders in athletic footware and other gear, is more than just stable. They’re excelling,” said Spellman. “I’ve talked to their manager up there and he said their numbers are just phenomenal.

 

“Most of all of your national chains requiure facelifts or renewals of some type in the five to 10-year range,” Spellman continued. “If a company isn’t doing that, then you can assume that they’re probably not faring well. When it company does that, it means those last five to 10 years have not only been strong, but they’ve been strong enough that they’re projecting things to be strong into the future.”

 

Construction is currently taking place at the Mall site. Lalama said that the store is “doing half the renovations and upgrades at a time.”

 

The first half of the remodel was completed earlier this week. The switch was made, Lalama said, to the newly renovated side early in the morning. The store has been open, and will continue to stay open, throughout the course of the remodel.

 

“That’s been a strong business,” said Lalama. “They have a great location and offer a great product. This is positive for them and their commitment to the Mall is positive for the community.”

 

Just how long has The Finish Line been in business? According to city records, the company began operations in Bridgeport On Oct. 29, 1992 – or 22 years ago this month.